The Learning Curve

It was wonderful to be able to take the time to thank our students, staff, and parents today for their support of our entire community. 

I can genuinely write that every day of this year, even when it was really tough, particularly when COVID impacted and disrupted our lives, the sense of optimism and togetherness that is so characteristic of Mougins British International School was unendingly inspirational. 

Michael Fullan, in his work on the leadership of change, places enormous emphasis on maintaining energy, hope, and enthusiasm. These three qualities have underpinned much of our work together this year. 

Be it in the inevitable changes that come from year to year in dynamic organisations like schools, or in the reassuring dependability of deepening friendships and traditions, I looked at the students today and know they are going off to a well deserved holiday having given their all. 

In doing so, we have momentum. This word is hugely significant at Mougins British International School. After all, Michael Speller’s dramatic installation ‘Momentum’ is at the heart of our campus and the backdrop to many an airborne mortar board at the end of graduations.

Momentum matters because it depends on consistent nudging. Momentum will come to a rest unless attended to and, importantly, momentum can be nudged by many different factors. 

Our students require rest, recharging, relaxation, and rejuvenation during the summer. It can also be a time for new energies, new hopes, and new enthusiasms to be realised or discovered. New triggers to ensure they are thinking, reflecting, engaging, and experiencing the world with a sense of wonder. 

I hope you will all be able to find many, many wonderful moments this summer where, like one of our students wrote way back in October, we use kindness to create joy. 

I look forward to seeing you all again in September. 

 

Paul Michael

Head of Secondary